Notes: Big Ten battle at IMS previews football championship

Dec. 3, 2016 at
08:27 a.m.

Updated:
Dec. 3, 2016 at
08:27 a.m.

The Big Ten Conference football championship will be decided tonight at Indianapolis’ Lucas Oil Stadium, with seventh-ranked Penn State University taking on No. 6 University of Wisconsin. At stake for the winner is a potential slot in the College Football Playoff to determine the national champion.

Friday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, a preview of sorts took place with a pair of two-seat Indy cars decked out in the schools’ colors turning laps on the iconic oval. No word on who won the on-track battle between the blue-and-white Penn State car and the red-and-white Wisconsin entry – each carrying its respective university logo on the engine cowling.

The champion will be determined starting at 8 p.m. ET today.

‘Fast ‘N Loud’ premiere recaps Karam’s Gas Monkey Indy 500 drive

When Gas Monkey Garage and its same-named energy drink sponsored Sage Karam for the 2016 Indianapolis 500, it brought its full assault of media assets.

The result is a two-hour episode of “Fast ‘N Loud” centered on the 100th running of the epic race that will air at 9 p.m. ET Dec. 8 on the Discovery Channel.

Fan favorite Karam finished a disappointing 32nd in the No. 24 Gas Monkey Energy Chevrolet prepared by Dreyer & Reinbold-Kingdom Racing, but the buzz created by the popular car restoration show based in Dallas was recognizable throughout the month of May. Video crews recorded much of the action on and off track with the premiere this week.

How much G-force is produced by an Indy car as it races around Indianapolis Motor Speedway?

That’s one of the questions television personality Kari Byron hopes to answer in an episode of the new Netflix science documentary series “White Rabbit Project,” a spin-off of the popular show “MythBusters.”

Byron, who along with “White Rabbit Project” co-hosts Tory Belleci and Grant Imahara made up the “MythBusters” build team, visited IMS in April just before the 100th Running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by PennGrade Motor Oil.

She rode along with James Hinchcliffe in a two-seat Indy car to experience G-forces herself before tracking the Schmidt Peterson Motorsports driver in a mock qualifying run around the famed 2.5-mile oval.

“White Rabbit Project” premieres Dec. 9 on Netflix. As is Netflix tradition, all episodes of the first season will be available.